CFP Edited Volume: New perspectives on the ontology of social identities

CFP for the volume New perspectives on the ontology of social identities

Edited by Alejandro Arango (Gonzaga University) and Adam Burgos (Bucknell University)

• Deadline: 15 May 2023
• Length: 7500-10000 words (inclusive of references and notes)
• Abstract: 150-200 words
• *Co-authored contributions are welcome

If interested, please submit full paper drafts and abstracts by May 15, 2023 via email to [email protected] 

Contributors will receive notification of acceptance by June 15 2023.

We invite contributions to a collected volume on the ontology of social identities. We are interested in seeing work that expands and develops cutting-edge work in social ontology around issues of identity. General topics or methodological approaches might include the social ontology of groups (in general or of specific identities), the nature of social identities, the limits of traditional accounts of social identities (in general and of specific social identities), the relationship between social identities and personal identities, the relationship between social identities and group membership,  embodied cognition and enactivism in social identities, conferralism, the relationship of oppression to social identities, modes of social constructivism, the relation between language and social identities, and many others. 

We understand the category of social identity very broadly, inclusive of identities chosen, unchosen, or sitting somewhere in between: sexuality, gender identity, class, race, ethnicity, political affiliation, generation (Millennial, Boomer, Gen Z, etc.), age groups (teenager, adult, pensioner, etc.), or any others that contributors choose to explore or develop. We also welcome work on specific social identities, such as Native or Indigenous peoples, religious identities, racial or ethnic identities, or identities that defy the traditional categorizations of social identities.  

Potential contributors should also feel free to make connections to other disciplines that broaden the scope and tools of philosophical inquiry, such as, to name only a few possibilities, ecological psychology, sociology, history, or critical race and ethnic studies.

We are looking for a broad range of essays that bring a diversity of ideas and perspectives to the table, and that do justice to the richness that inquiries into social identities require. We feel that this approach to social identity will make for an engaging and generative collection that criss-crosses the boundaries of the traditional areas of philosophy and shows some of the possibilities of this type of ontological and epistemological work connecting with topics in ethics, and social and political philosophy. 

For questions, feel free to email Alejandro Arango at [email protected].